you forgot to mention that she's stupidly hot.

'Good woman' was a highlight. As was the cameltoe joke.

That loud muscly, guy who thought he was having a moment with her was a low point.

That's pretty cool how this guy took pictures after she specifically requested that nobody take any pictures. I'm sure she really appreciated that.

cool! i'm glad you had a good Cat Power show. it can be 'hit or miss' with Chan.

i agree with you on her voice. it's positively dripping w/ sultry goodness.

b.s.

Yeah she was incredibly hot especially when she put her hair up and out of her face.

And did anyone notice the girl with the digital SLR who couldn't figure out how to turn off the beep or the autofocus light? She was annoying everyone around her not to mention the no picture request.

Otherwise, "it was [insert a synonym for 'amazing' here]" is a perfect description for the show. After she had us sit down, it felt like we were at a campfire and she was just hanging around with the crowd, goofing off with us, performing just for us.

And the heckler dude was a low point but I loved how she handled him!

In my defense, I came to the show a little later so I didn't hear Chan's request about no photos. Also I tried to be as inconspicious as I could be - no flash, no camera beeps, holding the camera low so she wouldn't be distracted, and using the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen. I apologize if I offended anyone, particularly the second commenter.

Yeah I saw that girl with the digital SLR, I wanted to punch her. Hopefully I wasn't that distracting.

anyone know what that "remember me" song was? i thought that was incredible.

i love how photobloggers have become so compulsive with taking pictures at shows that, when asked not to for once, they dont know how to handle themselves. god forbid they enjoy the show without documenting it.

yeah, i would think with everyone staring at you taking pictures - you being the only one taking pictures - you might have noticed. at least you weren't that girl sitting in the middle with her light going right into chan's face. that was annoying.

As I said before, I am sorry if my photos distracted anyone around me or took away from the performance. Seriously though there were actually a few people around me taking photos, including the annoying girl with the light, and a girl on the side using flash so I didn't know about her request.

Um, there were signs at eye level, right at the entrance to the ballroom on the posts, that said "NO PHOTOS ALLOWED" or something to that effect. They were clear as day.

I only noticed one person taking photos...the camera was beeping and lighting up to focus.... Eventually someone told the photographer to stop.

Sitting on the floor was a nightmare. Everyone around me was complaining of sleeping feet and trying to get comfortable the whole time. People couldn't get up and go anywhere...to the bar, bathroom, etc.

The show was great though. Chan Marshall is a bit crazy. It seemed like she could become unhinged at any point.... Her voice is amazing.

Um, there were signs at eye level, right at the entrance to the ballroom on the posts, that said "NO PHOTOS ALLOWED" or something to that effect. They were clear as day.

I only noticed one person taking photos...the camera was beeping and lighting up to focus.... Eventually someone told the photographer to stop.

Sitting on the floor was a nightmare. Everyone around me was complaining of sleeping feet and trying to get comfortable the whole time. People couldn't get up and go anywhere...to the bar, bathroom, etc.

The show was great though. Chan Marshall is a bit crazy. It seemed like she could become unhinged at any point.... Her voice is amazing.

Um, there were signs at eye level, right at the entrance to the ballroom on the posts, that said "NO PHOTOS ALLOWED" or something to that effect. They were clear as day.

I only noticed one person taking photos...the camera was beeping and lighting up to focus.... Eventually someone told the photographer to stop.

Sitting on the floor was a nightmare. Everyone around me was complaining of sleeping feet and trying to get comfortable the whole time. People couldn't get up and go anywhere...to the bar, bathroom, etc.

The show was great though. Chan Marshall is a bit crazy. It seemed like she could become unhinged at any point.... Her voice is amazing.

In defense of the annoying camera girl: I sat next to the poor girl with the annoying camera. She was foreign and her english, not so good...I think maybe she just didn't understand the plethora of signs and announcements. But I think the intense glare/looks of disgust are universal so, no excuse really...?

did anyone sit on the gum i accidentally had fall out of my mouth when i was there earlier this week? hope not.

hi jeff,

yours is a great story - clear as day or something to that effect

Well, Nick, if photobloggers don't take photos, the event doesn't exist. It's very DeLillo.

"did anyone sit on the gum i accidentally had fall out of my mouth when i was there earlier this week? hope not."

it was there, but we were careful enough to avoid it. don't worry

Regarding the floor sitting, at first I thought it was a great idea but after a while the discomfort became distracting. I still loved the show though.

I also thought it was funny how she was calling people out in the audience, like the guy from Matador. Did she say "bye Matador?" Did he really leave in the middle of the set?

seriously though, if you're the person i think you were you pushed through the crowd when you arrived "a little later" in front of people who had been waiting 45 minutes without even saying excuse me. then you ignored when people told you she requested no photos. but maybe that was some other annoying blogger. brooklynvegan, thanks for notifying us about the show and for respecting chan's wishes. the show was truly awesome though.

I've learned my lesson. If the audience ever gets asked to sit on hard floors again, I will quietly move to the back and stand. My experience was watching a beautiful set while getting tortured. This would have been one of the better shows of the year for me if it was a standing one at another venue where the stage is higher. It would have been one of the best if it was at some place like Joe's Pub or Living Room sitting at a table because her music is more suitable for sitting while listening. (I was jealous of the people at tables last night.) I sure am looking forward to the Magic Numbers show at Joe's Pub.

No I was not that person who pushed through the crowd, nor no one told me not to take photos cause seriously no one noticed I was very discreet. I go to enough shows to know not to be an asshole and push through without saying excuse me and if someone told me about Chan's request I would've stopped. My friend actually arrived when doors opened and he had saved me a spot.

I saw the No Photos Allowed sign but I figure that was a venue thing. How many times have you gone to a concert that says No Cameras on the ticket. Does anyone notice the big sign at the bottom of the stairs at Bowery that says No Photography. As a concert photographer, I try my best not to be intrusive to other concert goers and especially not to distract the performer.

yeesh, enough about the floor and the photos. what did she play?!

What? She played music? I was too busy taking photos.

cant people just stop taking pictures at shows? or like, limit themselves to taking them during the first song? how many different shots do you need of the same people playing the same instruments. seriously, these fucking people with digital SLR's that snap throughout the entire show are ruining live music in new york city. vegan, amrit, bao..im looking at you.

..and dont even get me started on people with camera phones who take pictures from the back of the venue.

does anyone have a setlist? i'm interested in that remember me song too, was it a cover? cause i didn't recognize it as a cat power song.

i was sitting in the balcony, and could see at least twenty cameras in the audience.

nick: OMG I'M A BIG BABY!!!! I DON'T LIKE CAMERAZ!
me: LOL U R!

if you hate photographers that much, why not go up to them and loudly ridicule them the next time you're at a concert? i know it might be hard to come off your pedestal and mingle with the average concert-goer, what with your diminutive stature, emo hair and hipster eliticism in tow. just stand on your tippie tows, puff your chest, and say very loudly - "no pictures here! take this camera and begone!" i'm sure it will work.

btw Bao - nice shots, and next time talk to Liz more!

Nick, I think you need to focus more on the artist on stage rather than people around you. I understand if the the camera was making noises, I was using flash, pushing people out of the way to take photos, or talking during the set but I stand there quietly, look in my viewfinder, and press a button.

Should I stop dancing at concerts because it bothers people as well?

and yes, i spelled 'tows' wrong on purpose to emphasize my condescending tone.

BAO LIKES LIZ

"seriously, these fucking people with digital SLR's that snap throughout the entire show are ruining live music in new york city. vegan, amrit, bao..im looking at you."

Amen. It's the Japanese tourist syndrome. People can't appreciate what they are expereincing during the acutal moment, they have to [snap] [snap] [snap].

Leave the camera at home next time. Just have fun.

I didn't take notes, so the following is totally from memory. These songs were played, but this ordering is not entirely correct:

-Love and Communication
-House of the Rising Son
-Good Woman
-Wild is the Wind
-The Greatest
-Willy (she introduced it as a really boring song so it'd be the "bathroom break" song and a great opportunity to sneak some coke, followed by her declaration of her own sobriety)
-Satisfaction
-I Don't Blame You (is that the name of it? brilliant song that starts "last time I saw you, you were on a stage"
-Empty Shell
-Hate ("I DO NOT hate myself and I DO NOT want to die")
-Lived in Bars
-Islands
-Extended extemporaneous medley ("um, what else? what else?")including Crazy (gnarls, not patsy: "ATL baby!") and an incredibly fun Window Shopping with some attempted Hank Williams imitation
-Living Proof
-Rambling (wo)man
-song that "no one knows except for a couple" (lyrics along the lines of "why do you treat me the way you do?"
-Dreams/blue moom

I thought it was a transcendent show and seeing as I was in the back of the room, I loved the sit down thing as I woundn't have seen a thing without it. Also great was that she told three dudes who coudn't find space to sit on the stage. How great is she? Captivating performance, physical beauty, bathroom humor, invites people on stage and off the cuff renditions of hip hop and classic country.

thanks, jeff. i didnt go to hiro show, but saw her at town hall and overwhelmingly felt like she was on the cusp of putting a mask on and running around naked...she's definitely odd. does anyone know what her deal is? she went sober and now she's just permanently boisterous??

i still wished she played "i found a reason", but after that obnoxious guy kept screaming it, i think we all knew it just wasn't gonna happen.

one of the songs featured a cover of "hit the road jack" and then a brief snippet of the white stripes "it's true what we love one another".

i'm pretty sure she also played werewolf.

"Nick, I think you need to focus more on the artist on stage rather than people around you."

I'm not Nick, and I wasn't at this show, but I've had the experience of more than one show compromised, if not ruined, by rude concert-goers who act as though the show is only for them and their weird, near-religious attachment to the artist. They can be extremely distracting!

My problem is less with the obsessive photo-snappers than with the push-and-shovers, the crazy-dancers (dancing when no one else is, wildly swinging arms or legs with no regard for others), and the SCREAMERS ("I love you!", "Play *insert song title here*," Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!"). Not too keen on the snogging couples, either.

I understand there are annoying concert goers that ruin other people's experiences and I hate those people. I am just saying that I try my best to keep to myself and not bother people with my camera. I happen to enjoy taking photos so I am able to have fun at a concert and take photos as well. I think as long as I am not interrupting the show or taking away from people's personal space, taking photos is, as the Japanese tourist inside of me would say, "A-OK".

bao or dave (who seems to have mistaken this comment section for an IM box)...what is wrong with taking photos for only one song then putting the camera away? please give me an answer as to why it's necessary to take constant photos throughout a set.

plus, you aren't a concert photographer. you're a douchebag who bought a digital SLR a year ago and suddenly started calling himself a "photographer."

and i know its weird for a tall dude to complain about other peoples' conduct at a show, but seriously, if i want to be up front for a show, i not only get pushed past by "photographers" all the time, but also then have the camera stuck in front of my face while the "photographer" goes for the classic "camera above head while shooting recklessly" move. i dont only get ym view obstructed, but i also am subjected to the horrible shots these people get.

Well Nick it appears as we have reduced ourselves to name calling. I've actually been taking photos since I was 13 and have had photos published in magazines so please do not assume to know anything about me. If you did know anything about me, I tend to only take photos once the encore starts and not during the concert. What is wrong with me taking photos if it is discreet in any case?

In terms of taking photos throughout a set, bands might do something that is worth taking a photo in one song that they might not do in another. Also different songs have different lighting so that's why sometimes it's necessary to take photos throughout the set.

I am really tired of having to defend what I do at a concert especially when I try to be courteous about it.

Bao, nobody's forcing you to read and respond to every post. If you think your conduct is appropriate, then stop being so defensive.

but back to the music... seriously, does anyone know what that "remember me" song is?

"People can't appreciate what they are expereincing during the acutal moment, they have to [snap] [snap] [snap]."

Granted, proper concert etiquette - whether taking pictures or staking out space or dancing, etc - is always great, and it's annoying when people don't follow it. But really, is it that impossible to believe that for some people taking photos is just as fulfilling of a way of enjoying and experiencing the show? Personally, I don't like taking pictures at shows - I found it distracting, and the few times I tried, the photos were all crap anyway. However, I can see how some people would find it really enjoyable, so as long as those people aren't disturbing my concert experience (which, yes, I realize isn't and won't always be the case), it's all good.

And then the next day, I can come and look at the pretty photos that they've taken.

"Granted, proper concert etiquette - whether taking pictures or staking out space or dancing, etc - is always great, and it's annoying when people don't follow it. But really, is it that impossible to believe that for some people taking photos is just as fulfilling of a way of enjoying and experiencing the show? Personally, I don't like taking pictures at shows - I found it distracting, and the few times I tried, the photos were all crap anyway. However, I can see how some people would find it really enjoyable, so as long as those people aren't disturbing my concert experience (which, yes, I realize isn't and won't always be the case), it's all good.

And then the next day, I can come and look at the pretty photos that they've taken"

Exactly. To each his own. Not taking photos or dancing around doesn't make you tolerable. Maybe you didn't shower. Look inside, not outside

This is why I go to so few concerts. My tolerance for douchebags (compulsive photographers, macking lovahs, people who push through to stand an inch in front of my short ass, crazy shouting heckler guys, etc.) took a nosedive after a certain age . . .

WAAAAAAAH!! Jesus you people are a bunch of WHINERS!! Just stay the hell home. It's a PUBLIC EVENT, not a fucking Sunday mass. Yeesh.

The way people take photos at concerts just proves that we evolved from monkeys.

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

That's it: Next Cat Power show I attend, I'm bringing a Mariachi band with me.

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

to all those "fans" who got upset because they "thought" i was having a moment with her.,let me just say that i was invited backstage after the show and was given hugs and kisses by Chan herself. she also thanked me for the encouragement i provided to her throughout the show since her "real" fans know that she needs it. so yes we did have a moment both onstage and off. LOVE YOU CHAN YOU PUT ON ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I EVER SAW!!!!!

glad to see u havent changed ur was loud muscly guy who thought he was having a moment with her.

ways not was*

That's it: Next Cat Power show I attend, I'm bringing a Mariachi band with me.

anyone see chan supposedly karaoke at japas, btw?

thanks to whoever posted a setlist!

Bao, your pictures are great.
This post wouldn't grab so many attention without a photo to illustrate the awesome concert we had yesterday.
I am sure that everyone who read this post couldn't resist to click on the link to check the pix.

the show last evening was a knockout. the song that 'no one knows except for a couple' was a lead-in to 'lived in bars' when she played at la cigale paris last november.

http://rbally.net/concerts/cat.html

awesome photos, boa. you really captured the beauty and joy of the evening.

Right, she played that version of hit the road jack (featuring "hit the road jon jon" and "hit the road chan") and she also closed with a sweet a capella number which she explained she's been doing since she started touring, i.e., since she was 13. It's a classic and it slips my mind. Anyone remember what it was?

The "Remember Me" song was, in part, an old Otis Redding song. (I forget which one, maybe "These Arms of Mine", it'll come to me as soon as I post this, I'm sure.)

Oh, and during "Satisfaction" she actually sang the chorus. It was awesome.

michael (who posted the setlist earlier) i think the a capella number was "i can't give you anything but love" an old jazz standard i believe. i could be wrong, feel free to correct or confirm!

Heh, over on http://www.morrissey-solo.com there's a guy (or more than one guy) who posts a bogus, humorous setlist every time an item is posted inviting people who went to that night's Morrissey show to post their comments.

anyone else see jake shears in the first row of people on the right side of the stage.. that was him, right?